Marg McAlister, a writer on anecdotes says the following about writing :
“Okay, I admit it: I'm a keen(enthusiastic) people-watcher”
“I love to sit in a sidewalk cafe or at a table in a shopping-mall restaurant, and watch the crowd go by. I'm fascinated by snatches of conversation at the next table or (I do draw the line at edging my chair closer so I can hear better!) I like watching mini-dramas being played out between warring couples (in active or conflict)... or friends who are meeting after a long period apart”.
To write "powerful" anecdotes you have to be able to make readers believe in the people in your stories. We have to 'see' these people. That doesn't mean you should stop and describe the colour of their hair and eyes and what they're wearing! The key is the emotions associated with the story you're telling: the customer's body language; hear the frustration and anger in his voice. Let people know what a salesperson is thinking as he/she faces a customer, and how he/she either handles the situation well or loses a sale and a customer .
By showing the emotions and worries of the people in your anecdotes, you're appealing to the emotions of the reader.
It´s not about being intruders!!!but tell an anecdote!!!
An anecdote is a short account of a particular incident or event of an interesting or amusing nature, often biographical, not always!!
Here's a sample :
1. The famous actor Cary Grant is said to have been reluctant to reveal his age to the public, having played the youthful lover for more years than would have been appropriate. One day, while he was sorting out some business with his agent, a telegram arrived from a journalist who was desperate to learn how old the actor was. It read: HOW OLD CARY GRANT? Grant, who happened to open it himself, immediately cabled back: OLD CARY GRANT FINE. HOW YOU?
2. On one episode of Grey’s Anatomy, the show’s main plot revolved around an adolescent female patient who is having problems with her reproductive organ. Bex is biologically identified as female yet is often upset and unable to identify with her gender. After a couple of x-rays, George O’Malley, the intern assigned to her, finds that she is equipped with both testes(testicles) and a vagina. The results are released to the parents and then later on, to the girl. Having the reproductive organs of both sexes means that Bex could be given the chance to choose to live the rest of her life as a male or as a female. In the end, she chooses to be identified as male, undergoing surgery.
Bex was a hermaphrodite. (/ˌhər-ˈma-frə-ˌdīt\)
Now, write your anecdote fulfilling the following categories:
1. It is an anecdote (see definition)
2. Connections, ideas, and explanations are
well-developed
3. Accuracy on vocabulary
4. Accuracy on Grammar
My aunt and I went to a nice resort hotel for a long weekend. There was a beautiful polished oak staircase that ended about ten feet from the swimming pool. There was also a big hall off the pool area, where a wedding reception was taking place. I commented to my aunt that they shouldn't have that kind of staircase so close to the pool, because it is possible the bride could slip and fall into the pool. After we swam for a while, I had to go to the bathroom. So I ran up the oak steps towards our room. I was so glad that I hadn't slipped on the steps that I kicked one leg really high and yelled "TA-DA". I lost my footing and fell backward into the hallway (at least not down the steps). My aunt laughed hysterically and so did I. I laughed so hard that I was just lying there pounding my fist on the carpet. This elderly couple came out of their room, and the man just stepped over me, but the woman ranted and raved about young people who get so Dad blamed drunk and stoned that they lie on hotel floors and laugh all day long. By this time, I REALLY had to poop, so I got up, but since the lady was still watching me, I skipped back to our hotel room. This time, when I went back to the pool, I was smart enough to wear my tennis shoes, and took my aunt her shoes, too.
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Renting apartment
A large family, with seven children, moved to a new city. They were having a difficult time finding an apartment to live in. Many apartments were large enough, but the landlords objected to the large family. After several days of searching, the father asked the mother to take the four younger children to visit the cemetery, while he took the older three to find an apartment. After they looked most of the morning, they found a place that was just right.
Then the landlord asked the usual question:"How many children do you have?"
The father answered with a deep sigh, "Seven...but four are with their dear mother in the cemetery."
The landlord, feeling sympathetic towards the man's situation, rented the apartment to him.
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In this country, every time you play a football game freezes life: the bars are full of people, the streets are deserted and broadcast media are dedicated to report the same, the national sport. And if you like soccer, fine, but if you do not find what, you get bored.
ResponderEliminarWe've spent some days there is nothing else than soccer. if the chilean selection has won a game, that if the colo colo win the league, if the university of chile wins libertadores.
Deeply hate the fact must deliver one thing to issue another. Let me explain. When the Saturday afternoon football game and there happens to play the selection. When you enjoy good music played on the radio. It is in this situation when they cut your favorite song to radio the cry of "goooooooooooooooooooooooool"
And you have screwed up the afternoon because you put put the station, all broadcast the same game of football. And what about the poor people who just want to chill escuchancdo music? Perhaps everyone has to follow the national sport? Why if there is such diversity of stations, how much is football, all broadcast the same program? Is that there are only two journalists in the country that make the program these days?
This happened to me on a winter vacation...
ResponderEliminarI joined a 4-day winter camp with my friends, Denise and cony.We all live a little bit far away from the place,so in order to arrive on time at 8 o'clock,we had to leave at 7:20.The sun was shining,flowers were blooming and birds were singing.It was a beautiful day!
Everything seemed so nice to me until I realized that I forgot to wear my nylons. The rules at the camp were such that ladies needed to wear nylons.So I asked Denise to drive me to a convenience store.She parked her car in front of the store and I ran in to buy a pair. When I got out of the store,I ran towards the car and got inside.
Suddenly, I realised it wasnt Denise's car & the driver was completely shocked by me sitting next to him. I felt so embarrassed! I kept apologizing and ran with shame to Denise's car.
And you know what? My friends had seen the whole thing in the rear view mirror! They were all laughing with all their heart. How embarrassed was I?!
Cows
ResponderEliminarThe only cow in a small Iowa town stopped giving milk. The people did some research and found that they could buy a cow just across the state line in Wisconsin for $200. They bought the cow from Wisconsin and the cow was wonderful. It produced lots of milk all of the time, and the people were pleased and very happy. They decided to acquire a bull to mate with the cow to produce more cows like it. They would never have to worry about their milk supply again. They bought the bull and put it in the pasture with their beloved cow. However, whenever the bull came close to the cow, the cow would move away. No matter what approach the bull tried, the cow would move away from the bull and he could not succeed in his quest. The people were very upset and decided to ask the Vet, who was very wise, what to do. They told the Vet what was happening. "Whenever the bull approaches our cow, she moves away. If he approaches from the back, she moves forward. When he approaches her from the front, she backs off. An approach from the side, she walks away to the other side." The Vet thought about this for a minute and asked, "Did you by chance, buy this cow in Wisconsin?" The people were dumbfounded, since no one had ever mentioned where they bought the cow. "You are truly a wise Vet," they said. "How did you know we got the cow in Wisconsin?”
The Vet replied with a distant look in his eye, "My wife is from Wisconsin."
PLOP...!
WC
ResponderEliminarA couple of years ago one Friday my family and I had a party, these day the grandfather was of birthday. These moment was very important by the whole family, because the men was 80 years.I was working in Santiago and the party was in Rancagua then I went out to the company at 7:00 o´clock, my wife was wainting me on the train station and she had the ticket at 7:45 pm .The party started at 9:00 o´clock, we had a few time by tavelling and arrive on time to the party, I should across all the city by travelling. when I went out of the office,I forgot to go to the bathroom.....I need to go to the bathroom, I thought. When I arrived to the train station, I said to my wife wait me because I needed to go the wc and she said "please quicky because is too late",the wc needed a coin, I bougth the coin and I came in, I didn´t read announce for that reason I didn´t realised that the wc was the ladies. when I finished, I herad a female voices and those moment I felt panic and I tought they won´t belived that I had make a terrible mistake.For that reason I have to go out fast of here , I thought. Meanwhile my wife was waiting me and the hours was running. I thought if I dont´t go out probably we´ll lost the train. I took breath and I went out there, two women was looking themself in the mirror and one of the woman said" hello" and I said hello but with my deep voice and they looked again the mirror immediately they turned back so, I had disappeared there.
Embarrased...
ResponderEliminarWhen I was younger than now and obviously liked guys, one day I was at my friend´s house her name is Barbara.
We have been friends since I've moved here. She's been great and one day I went to the store about 3 blockes away from my house Barbara went with me. She saw this boy she liked.
I told her to go and talk to him. While he was walking over she triped over the rug in the store. Then when she got up and saw that the guy wasn't alone.. he had a girl with him.
Barbara really embarrased walked back to me and said lets go . The next day she comes up to me and said I didn't like that guy anyway.
I feel bad for her because she acts like a fool around them and I know that the guy really liked.
THE PACK OF BISCUITS
ResponderEliminarOne night I was at the airport, i had to wait for several hours before catching my flight. While I waited I bought a book and a pack of biscuits to spend the time. I looked for a place to sit and waited.
I was deep into my book, when suddenly i realized that there was a young man sitting next to me who was stretching his hand, with no concern whatsoever, and grabbing the pack of cookies lying between us. He started to eat them one by one.
Not wanting to make a fuss about it I decided to ignore him. I, slightly bothered, ate the cookies and watched the clock, while the young and shameless thief of biscuits was also finishing them.
I started to get really angry at this point and thought, "If I wasn't such a good and educated person, I would have given this daring man a black eye by now."
Every time I ate a biscuit, he had one too. The dialogue between our eyes continued and when only one biscuit was left, I wondered what he was going to do.
Softly and with a nervous smile, the young man grabbed the last biscuit and broke it in two. He offered one half to me while he ate the other half.
Briskly, I took the biscuit and thought, "What an insolent man! How uneducated! He didn't even thank me!" I had never met anybody so fresh and sighed relieved to hear my flight announced.
I grabbed my bags and went towards the boarding gate refusing to look back to where that insolent thief was seated. After boarding the plane and
nicely seated, I looked for my book which was nearly finished by now.
While looking into my bag I was totally surprised to find my pack of biscuits nearly intact. If my biscuits are here, I thought feeling terribly, those others were his and he tried to share them with me.
Too late to apologize to the young man, I realized with pain, that it was I who had been insolent, uneducated and a thief, and not him!!
About Kirk Douglas
ResponderEliminarOne day Kirk Douglas was driving his car toward Palm Springs, California, and he found a sailor who was asking for a ride. He stopped and the sailor got in the car, looked at him and said:
'Hey, do you know who you are?'
'That's a really good question' Kirk replied.
That is a question we all should ask ourselves.
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ResponderEliminarUnforgettable experience.
ResponderEliminarHot summer's day. A friend and I we're out when he swallwed a fly while laughing with his mouth wide open. He said he couldn't swallow it and it's stuck in his throat. But, then i told him to get himself a drink he got a ribena, a red blackcurrent drink. He told me the next day that when he took the train home he felt sick about swallowing a fly so when he got off at the other end he vomited all over the platform. People saw red liquid and guessed that he was vomiting blood. So they call the ambulance. Very embarresing when he had to tell them that it wasn't blood. He caused a big fuss. Unforgettable.
Saturday night
ResponderEliminarIt was saturday night and a friend and I were getting readdy to party. We arrived to the disco and meet our friends. We danced all night and had a really good time. Everything was ok so far. When we arrived home I realized that I didnt have my keys. My friend couldnt belive how silly I was. None of us had a cell-phone so we had to walk for a half an hour to find a phone to call my mother and ask her to open the door. Well, things like that happen all the time.
the bus with mechanical problems.
ResponderEliminarSeven years ago I was with a friend in Belloto in the community of the fifth region in Quilpue serving a mission for our church. It was Sunday. We got up early to go to church on Sunday. It was my first week with my companion. We left home and headed to take the bus to church. ……. There was a bus that was stopped due to mechanical problems exactly where we were supposed to depart. We waited for about ten minutes, but the bus still didn’t work. The driver was trying to fix the problem when the bus unexpectedly started working. Minutes later, the bus stopped working again…..
The driver took something from the engine and the bus continued and we did not understand what was going. The funniest happened in the town center; we heard a loud noise like something had fallen off.
The bus driver stopped, and he moved back after that he picked up something like the exhaust pipe of the bus, it was literally falling apart this was a funny situation in spite of all this we arrived safely at the church.
My first jobs
ResponderEliminarWhen I was a teenager I used to work on my holidays, in winter or summer, because I wanted to have my own money. I remember a summer, in January or February, I don’t remember that exactly. I was taking care of a girl and a boy that were brothers in Vitacura , my female boss was very nice and simple for all , besides she didn’t demand me to do perfect the homework’s so as other ones that I had had before.
I was about 14 years old and didn`t know to do the homework’s very well.
She was usually outside. Anyway I took care of these children; I also played a lot with them and with their friends. It was very funny, because I invented several tales to keep them amused.
That year we went to Viña del Mar on holidays. I was so much happy, because I always wanted to go there. My female boss was sure that we would be the only at that flat in Viña.
When we arrived there, “oh my god”, in this place had a lot of people, all relatives of her. It wasn’t the idea from a beginning, but it was so no more and I had to do all things for all, uffff.
I remember that I finished the day vey tired, because was running all day, so I reached to do all.
The positive was that I knew Viña del Mar and had the best of my female boss.
My bag
ResponderEliminarsix or seven years ago, I worked as a secretary, some times I had to go out the office in order to deal with some paperworks,One day I went to the post office, I had to do many things, I had to go to the bank, I had to go to the Ministerio del trabajo and to the post office too. I had a big folder ful of papers, I had to hurry because I didn't have enough time to do everything I have to. As the most urgent procedure was a letter that I had to send I went to the post office first.
When I arrived to the building in the "plaza de armas" I looked for a place where I could write the envelopes, and I put my bag and the folder on a large desk. In that moment, my boss called me and told that I had to do some photocopies of the documents that I was sending, so I took the folder and went out to take the photocopies; When I was caming back to the post office I realized that I didn't have my bag, I didn't remember where I lost, I had all my money on it, my complete salary, I felt very sad, I got nervious, I was in panic, I didn't know what to do.... finally I decided to look for in place where I was before in the post office, people that were there before, now there weren`t I walked to the desk and over it my bag was waiting me.I was so lucky and I caught my breath again.
an embarrassing situation
ResponderEliminarIn 2006 I worked in a shopping center called "portal la dehesa" as a saleswoman of perfums. There always go to buy famous people, one day went to buy Carola Julio, I´m not sure what does she do, but some years ago she worked in s.q.p. (television programm where people talk about famous people, or something like that. Well Carola was going out very happy with her new big LCD, but when she arrived to the door the burglars alarm started to ring, her face changed, she looked around and said to the guard " why do you look at me as I am a thief?", "I pay for it!". She started to look for the receipt, and her face turned red, she couldn´t find it. I don´t remember how long past, I think more than half an hour, she was axasperated, so I decided to approach to her and said "the receipt is stuck in the television box", her face changed again, she took a deep breath and said me "thanks a lot", she went out happy, I felt good, but the poor guard I think he still remember the bad words that Carola said him.
Time to Think
ResponderEliminarHenry Ford hired an efficiency expert to go through his plant. He said, "Find the non-productive people. Tell me who they are, and I will fire them!"
The expert made the rounds with his clipboard in hand and finally returned to Henry Ford's office with his report. "I've found a problem with one of your administrators," he said. "Every time I walked by, he was sitting with his feet propped up on the desk. The man never does a thing. I definitely think you should consider getting rid of him!" When Henry Ford learned the name of the man the expert was referring to, Ford shook his head and said, "I can't fire him. I pay that man to do nothing but think - and that's what he's doing."
BIP! school card
ResponderEliminarTwo years ago, after university classes, I decided to go to drink some beers with some classmates in a place close to the university.
After some beers I was starting to get drunk and I spent all my money of my pocket buying more beers. Three hours later I had to come back home and when arrived to the underground station I realised that I had lost my Bip! school card...I remember that day as the thay when I walked from bus stop Nº6 to Nº32 of gran avenida. When I was at home I realised that I NEVER HAD SCHOOL CARD IN THAT YEAR!
A wild holiday
ResponderEliminarIn 2001 I went to Cancun, Mexico, for holidays with my two big cousins and my grandparents.
I was only 16 years old.
That trip was amazing, because we stayed in a espectacular resort with individual rooms and OPEN BAR..!!!!!
It was crazy because for us it was something new and we couldn`t waste this oportunity.
Every day we had to go on a Tour, all day long, but when we got back to the hotel, we went to the terrace for a drink.
Every day was like that.
But one day, after a long day on the Tour, we got back extremely tired, so my cousin, Celeste, and me went to our room to shower and then go to bed.
I was taking off the clothes went we head a noise in the room terrace.
Suddenly, the curtain opened, and there were five boys drinking and partying on our balcony..!!!!!!!
I put on my clothes very fast and we began to scream, but one of them opened the window and introduced himself.
His name was Andy, they were english,and he started to explain why they were here.
He said that they thought this room was empty.
All of them started to apologies, but they were so nice that we just laugh.
Then, they invite us to the Open Bar at the hotel, so we went...
They were so funny, they tried so hard to speak spanish with us, but it was useless.
That night we talk and drank a lot.
I`ve never lived a experience like that again.
We were so drunk that Andy asked me to marry him, on his knees!!!!!!!!!!!!!....
Was hilarious....
Well, that is my unforgettable anecdote.
When I start remembering my youth, with no responsabilities, make me want to go back and live it all over again, no regrets.
The stolen mountain bike
ResponderEliminarI remember when I used to ride my moutain bike by everywhere. I used to go every sunday to shopping. The Mall was very funny and I could entertain myself by hours and hours. I kept my mountain bike out the mall very safe, with a chain and a little lock, therefore I was ready yo buy anything I wanted to buy. A few hours passed and I was ready to go home, when I was leaving the Mall, I realized that my bycicle was not where I put it. I called the guards and explained them the situation, crying for my precious mountain bike. They started comunicating each other by radio. Suddenly the guard, who was in the southern part of the Mall (I was in the northern part) Asked for a description of the bicycle so I told him. I did not kwow where to hide myself, when he told my that my bike was in there, I apologize and went home.
My first day:
ResponderEliminarThe following story or anecdote rather I write here, is about my first day of work,when I was 18 years old.Was at that time, when I started working as a cabin crew on december 15,1992 this day it was my first day of flight as a cabin crew.
Then I began to put into practice, everything I had learned and learn only those things that are learned in practice, my flight was to the city of Arica and Calama scale.
It was in Calama where did that story I ´ll tell you now.
When we landed in Calama I was still nervous by all the experience I was living, then my boss told me I should go to another plane looking for a watering pear alleged aircraft plant.
Clearly there was no shower nor plants in the aircraft, just ocurred to me I believe in this lie, but until then I still did not Know that was a joke for begginers and I retorned the plane without a shower, and when boarding the plane , passengers applauded me and my boss by loudspeaker, welcomed me telling everyone what I had done and was at that moment I realized.It was all a joke and gave me a lot of shame, but after today I remember my anecdote much love and joy.
Fabiola Kohle.